Ore separator



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

A. GLEMENT-GONTI.

ORE SEPARATOR. No. 448,319. Patented Mar. 17, 1-391.

(No Model.) 3 SheetsSheet 2.

A. CLEMENT-GONTI.

ORE SEPARATOR.

No. 448,319. Patented Mar. 17, 1891.

(No Model.) 3 SheetsShet 31.

A. OLEMENT-GONTL ORE SEPARATOR.

No. 448,319. Patented Mar. 17, 1891'.

UNITED STATES PATENT Ormen.

ANTOINE oLEMENT-ooN'rI, or FELETTQITALY.

ORE-SEPARATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 448,319, dated March 1'7, 1891.

Application filed January 5, 1889. Serial No. 295,583- (No model.) Patented in France June 9, 1888, No. 191,108, and in Italy July 27, 1888,1l0. 23,821.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ANTOINE CLEMENT- OONTI, a subject of the King of Italy, residing at Feletto, in the Kingdom of Italy, have invented a new and useful Ore-Separator, (for which I have obtained Letters Patent in France, dated June 9, 1888, No. 191,108, and in Italy, dated July 27, 1888, No. 23,821,) of which the following is a specification.

Referring to the drawings, Figures 1 and 2 are vertical axial sections taken at right an gles to each other, Fig. 2 beinga section taken on line to a: of Fig. 1,the lower portion of the apparatus being broken away. Figs. 3 and are transverse sections taken, respectively, 011 lines 11 y and 2' z of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the i'lume. Fig. 6 is a vertical axial section of a modified construction of the apparatus, and Fig. 7 is a section on line 0 1: of Fig. 6.

The invention relates to ore-separators, and more especially to that class of apparatus particularly designed for use in separating precious metals from sands, as from auriferous sands, and has for its object to provide an apparatus by means of which a more perfect and rapid separation of the precious metals can be effected.

The further object of my invention is to provide an apparatus thatcan be readily taken apart for transportation and adapted for use under almost any circumstances.

The invention consists, essentially, in the mode of separating precious metals from their ores or sands and in the peculiar construction of the apparatus and the combination of its several parts, substantially as hereinafter fully described, and set forth in the claims.

One of the objects of this invention, as hereinabove stated, is to construct the apparatus in such a manner as to be readily put up and as readily taken apart, so as to avoid the necessity of employing more or less skilled labor. To this end I construct the apparatus so that all of its parts will fit into one another and will be securely held in place, thus dispensing with the labor of bolting or otherwise fastening the parts together in putting up the apparatus, or removing such fastening devices in taking the apparatus apart for transportation.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 1 to 5, the apparatus is preferably set upon a base or supporting frame F in the form of a shallow box, which is set in the waste-flume f, as shown in Fig. 1. If desired, any other construction of si'ipporting-frame' may be used, or said frame may be dispensed with. The apparatus is constructed of sheet metal, and consists of a main cylinder 0, having the inclined bottom 0 and discharge-chute c, and near its upper open end is secured a trough T, that is supported from brackets 25, and both brackets and trough are or maybe permanently secured to the cylinder (3. The latter is also provided with openings 0 for gaining access to the discharge-orifice a of the separating-vessel, which discharge-orifice is nor mally closed by a gate or screw-cap.

The separating-vesselAconsists of a cylindrical portion 0 and a conical bottom provided with the capped discharge a, above referred to, said vessel being loosely seated on the upper end of the casing O. From the roof of the separating chamber projects a flange c encompassing an axial aperture, and within said flange said roof is provided with air-ports 0 The separatingwessel is further provided with overflow-pipes P, that discharge into the trough T, secured to casing O. In the axial aperture of the separatingvessel is secured the tubular extension or sleeve B of a cone B, that has ports I) in its upper closed end, said cone being so arranged that its discharge orifice or mouth will be in a plane intermediate of the greatest and least diameters of the conical bottom of the separating-vessel.

D is the feed-funnel, that is provided with overflow-ports d and with a tubular extension D, extending into the combining-cone B, and said feed-funnel is adjustable verticallyin the cone-sleeve B by means of a set screw or screws or bolts d.

F is a fiume that carries the auriferous sand and water to the feed-funnel D, the end section of said fiume being supported by the funnel at one end and by trestles at the other. The flume F is made in sections, the rear or receiving end of each having a vertical wall f, that partially closes said end and serves as a support for the delivery end of the next too section, which delivery on d has a down wardlyprojecting discharge-lip This flulne may be open or closed at top, as preferred, and the end section thereof is extended beyond the said funnel and discharges into the drainagetlume or into a car or on the ground, as circumstances may demand. A portion of the bottom of the delivery-section or flume Ff is formed by perforated or longitudinally-slotted plates 10, so arranged relatively to one another as to leave a narrow transverse space or slot 19 between each two plates, and below said slotted bottom section 1 is secured an inclined directing-chute F so arranged as to discharge the sand and water that passes through the slots at a point in proximity to the frontwall of the feed or receiving funnel D, as shown inFig. 1. The object of this construction of flame-bottom F is to prevent gravel or stones from passing into the apparatus and allowing the sand and water to freely enter the feed-funnel D and thence into the apparatus, while the slots 15), that extend transversely of the flume-bottom, serve to arrest the flat scales of gold that may be carried along said bottom and which would otherwise pass over the perforations or longitudinal slots 29 of the plates p and be discharged with the gravel. The Hume-sections may be constructed of any desired material; but I prefer to construct them of sheet metal for convenience of transportation and setting up, and also for the reason that particles of gold will not as readily adhere or stick to metal as they would or might to wood.

In starting the operation of separation the separating-chamber A C is first filled with water to the overflow-pipes P. \Vater holding the auriferous sand in suspension is then fed to the fiume F at such a rate as to fill the funnel D to the overflow-ports d, the water and sand held in suspension pass from the tubular extension D into and axially through the cone 13 under a hydraulic pressure corresponding with the height of the water in column D D, which performs the same function that steam does in a boiler-injectornamely, the intlowing column of water and sand tends to entrain the body of water in the cone B, which here performs the function of a combining-cone, to which air or water is admitted through the ports I), the outer air being admitted to the separating-chamber through the ports 0 As the column of water issues from the combining-cone B into the body of water below the same the resistance of said body of water tends to spread the outflowii'ig-colunin of water so that at the mouth of the cone B the agitation will be greatest. This resistance at the mouth of the coi'nbining-cone is equal to the hydrostatic pressure exerted by the body of water above the said mouth of the cone; but this resistance increases from the mouth of the cone to the discharge-orifice a of the separating-chamber, at which point the resistance is equal to the hydrostatic pressure exertcd by the body of water above the point Ct. On the other hand, the lower portion of the separating-chainber being conical, the tendency of upward flow and spreading of the water issuing from the cone B is increased, so that the water below the cone is comparatively quiescent, so as to admit of the subsidence of the heavier particles of the metal. As the combined sand and water issues from the mouth of the cone B and spreads toward the sides of the separatingchamber its force or pressure is reduced, so that its upward flow will thereafter be comparatively slow; but as the hydrostatic resistance decreases in proportion to the upward flow, and inasmuch as the hydraulic pressure or force is a constant or unvarying one, a uniform circulation is established.

I have just stated that the hydraulic force or pressure of the inflowing water and sand is an unvaryin g one. This is obtained by pro viding the overflow-ports (Z' in the funnel D. The hydrostatic resistance may, however, be regulated or adjusted within certain limits by vertically adjusting the feed-funnelD, as it will be readily seen that the greater the distance from the point a to the discharge-orifice of D the greater will be the resistance to the infl'owing sand and water.

Such of the gold as the thin scales, the specific gravity of which is less than that of the sand or that may be carried along with it into the overflow-pipe I, is discharged into the trough T, which. contains mercury to amalgamate such particles as they reach the trough, or they may there be collected by subsidence.

When it is desired to clean the apparatus, clear water is introduced into the receptacle 0 the discharge-orifice a being opened, the inclined top of the cone-funnel B serving as a deflector to project the water upon the sides of the collector A.

In Figs. 6 and 7 I have shown a slight modification in the construction of the apparatus, the hydraulic as well as the hydrostatic, pressure exerted being materially increased thereby. While the effect of these pressures is not as abrupt or sudden, and as the sand and lighter material is not carried upward as rapidly and to a sufficient height,

I combine siphons S with the apparatus as a means for accelerating the discharge of the combined water and sand, said siphons having their bend at a point much lower than the mouth of the overflow-pipes P, so that the sand need not be lifted as high as it would have to be lifted were it to be wholly discharged through said overfiow-pipe P. The receptacle 0 in this construction is constantly supplied by a stream of clear water, and to its eight (more or less) openings 0 are connected pipes P, that project into the cylinder 0, so as to admit water thereto under a feeble pressure, thereby producing a countereddy along the cylinder-walls, said pipes pro 'jecting into the cylinder 0 to near the upper edge of the collector A.

The object of combining overflow-pipes P with the siphons is to provide a means for the discharge of the water, since the volume of water admitted to the apparatus is greater than the capacity of the siphons S. The pipes P, as well as the siphons S, discharge into the trough T, in which any gold carried out of the apparatus is or may be amalgamated. In this construction the inverted cone-funnel B is dispensed with, the siphons S discharging at a comparatively low level, and the increased pressure rendering its use unnecessary.

It will be seen that theprinciples of operation involved in this construction of the apparatus are the same as in the apparatus first hereinabove described, and need, therefore, no further description. It will also be seen that the construction of the apparatus and its manipulation is simple, and that it requires no skilled mechanics either to take it apart or set it up for work and is readily transported, and finally that by adjusting the feed-funnel D, relatively to the collector A the hydraulic and hydrostatic pressures may be regulated or adjusted to the specific gravity of the material to be treated.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s-

1. The mode of separating precious metals from their ores or from sands, which consists in injecting a body of water holding the minerals in suspension under a given hydraulic pressure or head into a body of confined water at a point intermediate of the highest and lowest levels of the last-named body of water and allowing the same to flow off in proportion to the volume of injected water, for the purpose set forth.

2. The mode of separating precious metals from their ores or from sands, which consists in injecting a body of water holding the 111111- eral in suspension under a given pressure or head into a body of water whose sectional areaincreases from its lowest level upwardly to a given point and then remains constant to its highest level and injecting the water holding the mineral in suspension into said body of water at a point intermediate of the greatest and least sectional areas thereof, for the purpose set forth.

3. In an ore-separator, the combination, with a separating-chamber provided with a conical bottom and an overflow at or near its upper end, of a feed-funnel provided with overflow-ports and with a tubular extension projecting into the separating-chamber, for the purpose set forth.

4:. In an ore-separator, the combination, with a separating-chamber provided with a conical bottom and an overflow at or near its upper end, of a vertically-adjustable feedfunnel provided with overflow-ports and with a tubular extension projecting into the separating-chamber,for the purposes set forth.

5. In an ore-separator, the combination, with a separating-chamber provided with a conical bottom and with an overflow at or near its upper end, of a feeding device consisting of a feed-funnel provided with overflow-ports and with a tubular extension projecting into the separating-chamber, and a combining-cone encompassing the tubular extension and having inlet-ports at its upper end, for the purposes set forth.

6. In an ore-separator, the combination, with a separating-chamber provided with a conical bottom and with an overflow at or near its upper end, of a feeding device consisting of a feed-funnel provided with overflow-ports and with a tubular extension projecting into the separating-chamber, and a combin ing-cone encompassing the tubular extension and having inlet-ports at its upper end, said cone having its discharge in a plane intermediate of the greatest and least diameters of the collector, for the purpose set. forth.

7. In an orefseparator, the combination, with a separating-chamber provided with a conical bottom and with an overflow at or near its upper end, of a vertically-adjustable feeding device consisting of a feed-funnel provided with overflow-ports and with a tubular extension projecting into the separatingchamber, and a combining-cone encompassing the tubular extension and having inletports at its upper end, for the purposes set forth.

8. In an ore-separator, the combination, with a collecting-chamber provided with airports in its roof, with overflow-pipes at or near its upper end, and with a conical bottom, of a combining-cone suspended axially within the chamber and having its discharge on a line intermediate of the greatest and least diameter of the conical bottom of the chamber, and a feed-funnel provided with overflow-ports and with a tubular extension projecting into the combining-cone, for the purposes set forth.

9. In an ore-separator, the combination, with a separating-chamber having overflowports at or near its upper end and a feeding device consisting of a feed-funnel provided with overflow-ports and with a tubular extension projecting into the separating-chamber, of a feed-trough arranged on the feed-funnel and having a portion of its bottom perforated or slotted, a directing-chute arranged underneath said. perforated portion and discharging into the feed-funnel, and a dischargechute at the end of the perforated portion of said bottom, said chute projecting over the feed-funnel, for the purposes set forth.

10. In an ore-separator, the combination, with a casing provided with an inclined bottom, of a separating-vessel having overflowpipes at its upper end and a conical bottom provided with a screwcapped discharge-port, said vessel being loosely seated in the upper end of the casing, a combining-cone sus- In testimony that I claim theforegoing I pended axially Within the casing, and a feedhave hereunto set my hand this 2d day of Defunnel provided with overflow-ports and with cembel', 1888.

a tubular extension projecting into the eom- ANTOINE CLEMENT-OONTI. 5 Dining-cone, said funnel being detaehably Witnesses:

connected with the separating-vessel, for the CAMILLE CHARROPPIN,

purposes set forth. I JOSEPH PETKoWs L' 

